


'Tis the season to get your best friends together

by ghostiewriter101



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Angst, Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, cambank siblings, jj and wheezie siblings supremacy, jj is a brother, john b is oblivious as usual, pope needs to become a better liar, she is playing cupid, teeny talk of angst, this is literally just a badly written sitcom christmas special, wheezie is the captain of the ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28271058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostiewriter101/pseuds/ghostiewriter101
Summary: A two parter in which the pogues—and honorary member Wheezus Christ—take it upon themselves to play Cupid this festive season and hope that with Kie’s return, JJ will finally get the guts to admit his feelings. The pogues are wishing on a Christmas miracle and a lot of scheming to make their ship happen this year.
Relationships: JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Comments: 30
Kudos: 61





	1. driving home for christmas

JJ Maybank was always a bit of a Grinch when holiday season rolled around.

Growing up, the holiday season was just a reminder of everything he didn’t have. The closest thing he had to a Christmas tree was the scrawny one in the school assembly hall, his present every year was that his father would bugger off for the day and not bother him and up until he was eight years old, the only tradition he had was going to the local diner with his mother for dinner where he would be treated with desert (something that he never got, but Georgia Maybank insisted they could splurge for the holidays).

But then Georgia Maybank disappeared and JJ only hated the holiday season ever more. His dad _thankfully_ still disappeared on Christmas day, and JJ was left alone. Some years, if he felt like torturing himself a little bit more, he would sneak out and head into the main market. Despite the small size of the island, Outer Banks prided themselves on the Christmas market and light show they did every year on Christmas Eve. JJ would hide in the back, away from the crowd, watching from afar as all the families stood and laughed and enjoyed themselves. He would longingly watch, envying every single _stupid_ smile on their faces. JJ longed for that perfect Christmas but he wasn’t ignorant enough to believe he would ever get it.

JJ hated Christmas with every fibre in his body.

And then the pogues came along.

It was hard at first, for him to try and hide his hatred for the festive season when every single one of them adored it. But despite his efforts, they saw right through him. They began to incorporate JJ into their Christmas plans, and slowly, it became more enjoyable. John B made him tag along on the annual fishing trip he took with Big John. Pope opened his doors for JJ to join the Heyward’s Christmas dinner (Yvonne was appalled to find out JJ had never had a homemade dinner…ever). And Kiara…well she did the best thing of all. Every Christmas Eve, she would drag the boys out to the Christmas market (despite their complaints that they were stuffed and suffering food comas from their dinner at the diner). They would budge their way through the crowd until they reached the front, arms looped together and sipping hot chocolate as they watched the lights shine brightly as the switch was turned on. When they were old enough, the cups of hot chocolate would soon turn into hot chocolate with a _small_ dose of alcohol and the four of them would laugh and sing and dance around the market until the clock hit midnight and they wished each other a Merry Christmas.

JJ didn’t rely on the happiness to last long, nothing good lasted long in a Maybank’s life.

And he was right for a while, or at least he thought.

The summer with the gold hunt was wild and unpredictable and draining. As the days passed, JJ was convinced that after the death of John B and Sarah, that he would never actually _ever_ be happy again. Yet, the universe came around and shocked JJ just when he least expected. The next few months were wild—from the postcard confirming that his two friends were alive and well and _not dead_ , the impossible heist of returning the gold to the island, the multiple times they had a brush with death and for the cherry on top, JJ discovered that maybe he could have an _actual_ family…a blood-bonded family beyond the pogues.

Two and a half later, the pogues are thriving and better than ever. And JJ’s relationship with Christmas had definitely… _evolved_.

“What are you doing?! Am I the only person taking this seriously? The garlands are wonky, the colour scheme for the tree is all wrong and John B, stop eating all the fucking cookies!”

Wheezie rolled her eyes, looking down at Sarah who was holding the ladder she was currently standing on. “He’s acting like Buddy the Elf on steroids.” She muttered.

“Heard that, gremlin!” JJ yelled back.

Let me just catch you up on the situation. The date is 20th December and the Maybank-Cameron household was in utter chaos. You see, this Christmas is a _little_ different. First off, it’s the first year where they are free of any legal mess or court cases or gold fiascos. Secondly, Pope’s boyfriend—Theo—is finally meeting the pogues after two years of facetime calls and gushing from Pope. Oh, and Kiara is finally returning to the Outer Banks after six months.

Her departure was difficult for the pogues. The transition into college was difficult in itself, with Pope going across the country, Sarah and Kie heading into the mainland whilst the two boys stayed and worked on the island. They had gone from spending every breathing moment together to a mix of group calls and chaotic group-chats. But things changed when Kiara received a chance of a lifetime opportunity to work on an internship with some of the top marine biologists and environment conservationists in the world.

The catch? She was stationed all the way in Australia.

She left in June. And now she was finally coming home.

And JJ had turned into some Christmas Godzilla, adamant everything goes to plan.

“Kie isn’t arriving until tomorrow, JJ, take a chill pill.” John B huffed as he put down the plate of cookies. They were cookies from Mama Heyward, it’s just torture to _not_ eat them!

“Exactly! She is coming tomorrow, and this place is a fucking mess!” He exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the living room around him. It still weirded him out a little, living in a massive house now. He went from never having any sign of Christmas in his house to now having an eight foot tree to decorate to the point of perfection.

“I thought you said he was meant to be the chill one.” Theo whispered to Pope where they sat together on the couch, making garlands to hang around the house.

“Uh yeah, this is new for all of us too.” Pope muttered back, both men ignoring the glares they were receiving from the blond.

“Oh, shut up,” JJ scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I just…this is the first time any of us have gone out of the country for so long and I just…I want her to feel right at home, you know? Sue me for wanting to be a decent friend unlike you lot.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow at her brother. “And you think Kie is gonna run back to Australia if she sees that the Christmas tree has thirty baubles on one side and twenty-nine on the other?”

“Maybe.”

“Control freak.”

“Zip it, weasel.”

Wheezie stuck her tongue out, ready to retaliate with a snarky comment, except the sound of a phone ringing interrupted her chances. JJ frowned, grabbing his phone from his pocket and looking down at the name flashing on his screen. Instantly, his face broke out into a massive smile.

“I’ll be right back.” He muttered half-heartedly before jogging out the room.

Theo turned to his boyfriend, a frown on his face. “I thought you said they weren’t dating.”

Pope mirrored his frown. “Who?”

“Kie and JJ.”

“They aren’t?”

Theo scoffed, patting his boyfriend’s cheek affectionately. “Oh honey, those two are _clearly_ in love, it’s tragic.”

“He is right, and we have been in the front row of this mutual pining train wreck for two years now.” Wheezie commented.

Theo grinned, clapping his hands. “See, Wheezus agrees with me!” He said with a smug look. “I knew I liked you for a reason. Smartest person in this room.”

“Wheezus Christ protects the gays, gotta stick by your side.”

“Right, no more eggnog for you.” Sarah muttered, but there was a smile tugging on her lips as she gestured for Wheezie to turn back to the garlands they were hanging up.

Kiara nibbled on her lower lip, glancing down at her screen as she contemplated her actions. She just needed to do it. Just call him and rip the band-aid off and get everything over and done with. But somewhere, deep in her mind, that annoying little voice was bringing up all her doubts, all the possibilities of this plan going wrong—most of these deranged worries ending in him absolutely hating her guts. She knew she was being dramatic, overthinking everything. But weeks of planning left her feeling unprepared for this moment—the hardest part of her plan.

“Suck it up, Kiara.” She muttered to herself, clicking the call button on her phone and bringing it up to her ear. It rang once. Then twice. Just before the third ring, he answered.

_“Hey, Kie, what’s up? Are you at the airport yet?”_

Kie closed her eyes, a soft smile on her lips when she heard his voice. It always had that effect on her, calming her down, grounding her. But then realised how excited he sounded, so happy and joyful. And suddenly that wave of guilt returned.

“Uh yeah, about that…Jay…” She trailed off, trying to find the right words. She had prepared for this, last night before bed, just so she wouldn’t choke up like she is now. She tried to reassure herself that he couldn’t pick up on her nerves, that he didn’t know her plan.

_"Are you okay? I thought you had those pills to help you keep calm when you fly, did you run out or—”_

“I’m not coming back home for Christmas!” She blurted out.

She was met with silence. It felt like years before JJ finally spoke again.

_“W-What?”_

Her eyes shut when she heard the voice crack. Fuck, he was making this much harder than she thought it would be.

“The centre offered me an expansion on my internship, up until February…a paid internship, JJ. I mean…this could be huge for my career and I can’t just throw the chance away. But…I would have to start on Boxing Day…and there is just no way I would be able to afford flying home and then back to Australia on such short notice.” She let out a breath, hoping she had managed to play it off well. “I’m sorry, Jay, but I can’t—”

_“It’s okay, Kiara. I get it.”_

She winced at the use of her full name. “It’s only like one more month…”

_“Yeah, exactly…just one more month.”_

“JJ—” But he cut her off.

_“I gotta go, JB is eating all the food so…I’ll talk to you later, bye.”_

And with that, he hung up.

Kie let out a breath, her eyes fluttering close as she leaned her head against the wall behind her. She pressed her lips together, trying to ignore the impending thoughts of how upset JJ must be right now, at how excited he was when she first called him and how desperate he was to hang up by the end of their conversation.

“Be truthful: on a scale from one to ten, how bad of a person am I?” Kiara asked, phone still pressed against her ear.

She heard two little beeps, confirming that the two other callers had unmuted themselves.

_“To be honest, I am more surprised he didn’t notice us on the call.”_

Kiara rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile at the wee comment. “JJ doesn’t pay attention to stuff unless he can eat it or use it to make money.” She joked, knowing truthfully he was probably way to excited to speak to her to notice Pope and Wheezie were also on the call.

_“Don’t feel too bad, Kie. It’s just a harmless prank to get back at him, he won’t even care the second he sees you over here. It will just be something for all of us to laugh at.”_

_“Yeah, wise man is right, plus just think of it as payback for that time he sent a box of rotten fish to your apartment and the whole building had to get evacuated.”_

“Thanks for that memory, Wheezie.” She muttered, her nose scrunched in disgust. But they were right. It was just a harmless prank to surprise him earlier than he expected, surely he wouldn’t stay mad for long? JJ may be stubborn, but once he forgives you, that’s it done. He wouldn’t hold this against her, especially since the prank actually ends _better_ than if she stuck to her original plan of when she would return home.

_“Just chill out, Kie. I can feel the stress from here, bad for your aura.”_

Kiara rolled her eyes, giggling when she heard Pope let out an exaggerated scoff. “Just keep an eye on him, alright? Try and keep him in the Christmas mood until I arrive.”

_“Umm…that might be a little difficult.”_

“Why?” She frowned.

_“Because he just stormed back into the house, and locked himself in his room.”_

“That’s not too bad, right?” She asked hopefully.

_"He didn’t even notice that I swapped over Santa and Frosty the snowman’s heads…damn, he is really upset.”_

Kie nibbled on her lower lip, the guilt washing over her again. Maybe this was a stupid idea, maybe she should have surprised him earlier rather than go through with this elaborate plan.

“Pope, can you try—”

_“Yeah, will do. Have a safe flight, see you soon.”_

“Bye Pope, Bye Wheezie.”

_“Wheezus Christ out.”_

Kiara laughed lightly, slipping her phone back into her jacket pocket before grabbing her bag and suitcase, exiting the bathroom she had been hiding in for the past twenty minutes. The airport was busy, as one would expect LAX to be during the holiday season. She arrived earlier that day, somehow having gotten away with having no contact with the pogues for twenty-four hours. Luckily, she had Pope and Wheezie helping her out for this whole scheme, plus no one really questioned when she said she was busy as work, training dolphins (Wheezie’s idea, duh).

But everything was going to schedule.

Or at least, she thought it was.

_“PASSANGER ANNOUNCEMENT: THE NC876 FLIGHT HEADING FROM LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA TO GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO A YELLOW WEATHER WARNING ON THE ROUTE. WE ARE SORRY FOR THIS INCONVENIENCE. PLEASE SEE A MEMBER OF STAFF AT ONE OF THE CUSTOMER HELP DESKS FOR MORE INFORMATION OR ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU.”_

Kiara froze. Well shit…things just got a lot more complicated.

Pope didn’t spare any of the others a glance as he passed them in the living room, other than a reassuring smile towards Theo, before he began to make his way upstairs. Despite the struggles when JJ first moved in with Sarah and Wheezie, Pope was the first to pick up quickly on the layout of the mansion and how to navigate his way through the place. But did Pope think it was unnecessary to have seven bathrooms? _Abso-fucking-lutely._ Nonetheless, he jogged up the massive staircase and made his way to where JJ’s room was located.

Unsurprisingly, his door was shut. Though surprisingly, there was no loud music blasting. It was just dead silent. That was only _slightly_ alarming to Pope. He raised his hand and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again, this time speaking up. “JJ? It’s me, open up.”

He heard some shuffling around, then the click of the door lock. Pope took that a sign for him to enter and quickly slipped in, seeing JJ sitting on the end of his bed, staring quite blankly at the ground.

“Kie just texted—”

“I know.” He snapped.

Pope raised an eyebrow, lightly nudging his shoulder before taking a seat beside the blond. They both sat there, neither one talking. JJ lost in his thoughts and Pope just waiting until JJ was ready to say something. He was contemplating whether he needed another push, but to his shock, JJ spoke up.

“I just really miss her.” He whispered, never once looking away from his clasped hands. It was good enough JJ was actually being somewhat vulnerable around him, Pope wasn’t going to push him to make eye contact. He just let him talk.

“It’s not her fault,” He replied, watching him closely. “She wanted to be here, it just wasn’t possible.”

“That’s the worst part!” He blurted out, his knuckles white from how tightly he was clutching his hands. It was mildly concerning but Pope let him continue. “This is the best thing for her and I am _so_ fucking happy for her but—”

“You had hyped yourself up for her to come home tomorrow and now you have to wait even longer?”

“It feels like being a kid all over again.” He muttered, mostly to himself than Pope. “Hyping myself up for Christmas just to be let down again…I don’t even know why I bother.” He laughed dryly.

Pope frowned a little. “JJ…” 

“She’s alone, Pope.” He commented, running a hand through his hair and tugging on the roots. “Fair enough I’ve got you and JB and Sarah and Wheezie and Theo but like…she’s got no one over there.”

“This isn’t the first Christmas we spent apart, JJ.” Pope tried to reassure him. “I was in Pennsylvania last year, and Kie and Sarah were stuck in the mainland.”

“Yeah, but we were still altogether!” JJ huffed. “I just…wish I could do something.” He admitted.

“Everything will work out, dude.” Pope shrugged. “Moping up here won’t do anything. C’mon, I think Wheezie mentioned something about ordering in some pizza.”

JJ gave Pope a smile, nodding and following him down. But the thoughts of Kiara remained in the back of his mind.

“Three hundred dollars?!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but for the requirements you are asking for and the short notice, it’s all we have. It’s a popular season, a lot of our cars are gone. I’m sorry. It’s either that or nothing.”

She looked at the man behind the desk with a fixed glare, a small part of her hoping he would combust on the spot. Unfortunately, he did not. “Fine, I’ll take it.” She muttered, grabbing her card from her wallet and paying the _outrageous_ price.

After finding out her flight had been cancelled, Kiara had been trying to find some way— _any_ _way_ —to get near North Carolina, let alone Outer Banks. She looked at other plane routes, train tickets, bus journeys and more. But everything was fully booked, oh how she resented how chaotic and busy the holiday season was. Her last idea—the one which she really didn’t want to do but it was her only chance of getting home now—was to rent a car and drive from Los Angeles to North Carolina.

Has she been used to driving on the left side of the road for the last six months?

Yes.

Was she particularly excited for a road trip that would take her two days at best?

No.

But was she doing to do it anyways?

You bet your ass she was. Anything to get home to her pogues.

After the transaction had gone through, Kie took the keys from the man behind the desk and went outside to find the car she would be driving across the country. And when she saw it…words cannot describe just how ripped off Kiara felt. The car in front of her looked as though it hadn’t been used in the last twenty years, and she was pretty sure that the brown colour on the car was rust and not paint.

“Great, just my luck.” She muttered as she opened up the boot, securing her suitcase before she slipped into the driver’s seat, placing her carry-on bag next to her. She sat there for a few moments, contemplating just what she was about to do. It was wild and stupid and she honestly expected herself to open her eyes and she would be back on the plane, or even her apartment in Australia. But no, she was still in the nasty car.

It took her a few tries to actually get the car running, but once she did, she got on route as quickly as she could. It was getting late, but she was sure she could at least get a couple of hours in before the jet lag kicked in and it got too dark. Her plan was to grab some food at whatever the first service station she passed was and then just keep driving until she found a decent—and hopefully cheap—motel to spend the night at. Then, she could wake up earlier tomorrow morning and cover as much distance as she could. At this rate, she would be able to reach Outer Banks before Christmas Eve.

It was a solid plan, a new plan but still one that could work. She sent Pope and Wheezie a quick update on her situation and then she was off.

Kiara would make it home for Christmas, she would make sure of it.

Unfortunately for Kiara, there wasn’t many decent looking motels to come across while she was driving through the middle of nowhere. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but these motels just looked _particularly_ bad in the dark. She tried to reassure herself that she had stayed in worse places, like that dodgy ass cabin her and the boys stayed in during one summer “stay-cation” (they found out pretty quickly why it was abandoned for so long). Or even the HMS Pogue when they got stranded after a fishing trip and it took hours for anyone to find them (the smell of fish lasted _weeks_ , it was horrible). But the point was that she could last a couple of hours sleep in one of these motels. She just needed to suck it up.

So, the next motel she came across, she pulled in and parked the car. She grabbed her carry-on bag, deciding to leave her suitcase in the car before locking it and heading into the main reception.

If Kiara was ever in a horror movie, _this_ is exactly where she would expect it to be set. The foggy weather and hollow winds that were battling the trees outside weren’t really helping to create a friendly atmosphere. The carpet was dirty and stained and ripping in most places, the scent of dust and _something else_ was pungent (she could’ve sworn the scent was burning her nose hairs) and it was _dead_. There was no one about, in fact the whole place looked so dull and dreary that Kie was convinced it was abandoned. The only sign of life was the pathetically decorated Christmas tree, tucked away in a corner, almost out of sight, and the peculiar woman behind the desk. 

“Uh, excuse me, hi, do you have a room for the night?” Kie asked with a polite smile on her face. As if this place would be booked out.

The old woman looked up at her and Kie tried not to react. She must’ve been in her late 70s, with her skin looking wrinkled and withered. She smiled at Kie, and nothing about it felt friendly. Her teeth were yellow and chipped, her eyes were sharp and unwelcoming, and Kiara was pretty sure she saw a spider on her shoulder. If this place didn’t creep her out before, it definitely did now.

“Our last room. Lucky girl.” She croaked with eerie smile.

“Thanks,” She murmured. “How much?”

“Twenty for the room, thirty for bed and breakfast.”

“The room is fine.” She said, forcing her smile as she paid for the room, grabbed the keys and briskly began walking to her new room.

Kiara clung onto her bag as she walked through the corridors, strange noises and howls could be heard from the other rooms. Kie couldn’t help but think what the fuck she had gotten herself into. As she passed one room, she heard a loud bang and a yelp and found her feet moving faster to get away.

The second she reached the safety of her room, she slammed the door shut and locked it (or attempted to, it felt a little loose but as long as it stayed closed, she didn’t care). She glanced around the room, wincing slightly. It wasn’t too bad. A little rundown, not five stars but she could survive the night.

And for a while, Kie believed that things were actually going well for her. But of course, the universe had to come along and ruin it. First, it sounded like a distant thump. She assumed it was one of her neighbours. But then it got louder and more consistent. Kiara frowned, rubbing her eyes as she reached her hand out to turn the lamp on, and boy did she regret it.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the drunken couple, grabbing at each other as they stumbled in through the (now broken) door. Kiara quickly averted her eyes, taking a few moments to actually let the events catch up with her. “Fuck this.” She muttered to herself, clearing her throat. “Excuse me, I-I think you guys have the wrong room.” She called out to them.

The woman pulled away, looking over at Kiara with a drunken smile. “Don’t be shy, sweetheart, you can join the fun.” Her words slurred together, a small gasp breaking her words as she threw her head back, the man’s lips attached to her neck and making their way down to her collarbone. She let out a genuine laugh, pulling at his shirt, her eyes finding Kiara’s once more. “C’mon, don’t be a bore.”

That is when Kiara decided she had enough.

She grabbed all her stuff, shoving everything onto her carry-on bag and half-heartedly slipping on her shoes before rushing out the room—avoiding the grabby hands on her way out. She didn’t spare a glance at the creepy old woman, simply leaving the keys on the desk and rushing out to the car.

“Fuck me…” She muttered, leaning back in the seat as she tried to collect her thoughts. A part of her was still half-asleep, her brain not having processed the past thirty minutes. She was exhausted, feeling as though she was the next victim in a crappy horror movie and now homeless for the night.

She contemplated driving down the road, in hopes of finding another motel or something. Kiara glanced down at her phone, groaning at the time. Three in the morning. She couldn’t be bothered with any of this. Even the thought of all the driving she had to do tomorrow was tiring.

“Guess this is my bed for tonight.” She muttered, closing her eyes.

_God, she just wanted to be home right now._

The next morning was quite uneventful for JJ. Whatever Christmas spirit he had the days before was long gone now, and if he was being honest, he just wanted this festive season to be over. He had spent the whole of December trying to convince everyone to be a bit jolly, but the moment he stops, everyone else starts. It honestly disgusted him a bit, he just hoped he wasn’t this…obnoxious.

JJ sat at the dining table, bowl of cereal in front of him as he watched with narrowed eyes. If he was being honest, he preferred his mornings free of PDA from his sister and best friend macking it away while they are meant to be baking a gingerbread house. He grabbed his bowl, very loudly gagging as he left—not that either Sarah or John B even regarded his presence—as he made his way to the living room to finish his breakfast.

However, it was just his luck to see Pope and Theo, all cuddled up, whispering and laughing about something that was in the book that laid on Pope’s lap. JJ let out a scoff, not even meaning to catch their attention but Theo noticed.

“Uh oh, looks like we have a Grinch.” He pouted, though JJ chose to ignore the snide comment and the snicker that came from Pope.

“I’m not a Grinch,” He muttered. “Would just prefer to eat breakfast without the lovey-dovey shit in my face.” He added with a shrug.

“Is this about Kia—AHH!” Theo hissed, rubbing his side which Pope had kindly just elbowed. But JJ wasn’t blind, he could clearly see the obvious hand gestures Pope was making to try and shut his boyfriend up.

“You know what, I don’t need this.” JJ muttered, now abandoning his cereal bowl on the coffee table before he began making his way to another room of the house, hopeful he won’t have to third wheel _another_ couple. But he was safe when he walked past one particular door, not thinking anything of it until he heard a noise…like the sound of a few notes being played. He paused, taking a few steps back and peeked in through the small slit of the door that remained open. He grinned slightly when he saw who was inside.

He didn’t bother making his entrance hidden as he swung the door open, lazily shutting it behind him once he was inside. “What are you doing hiding in here, lil Cameron?” He questioned, watching as her head snapped away from the piano keys to look at him instead.

She gave him a sheepish smile, shrugging a little as she wiggled over so he would have space to sit next to her. “I don’t know…sometimes I just feel like…practising…I guess.” She murmured, lightly skimming the keys of the piano but never fully pressing down on them.

“Really?”

“No,” She huffed out and JJ couldn’t help but smile a little in accomplishment for being able to read her so easily. He was getting much better at this whole big brother thing. “I guess…every year it just hits that Christmas isn’t what it used to be…” She admitted and JJ’s smile instantly fell. “Don’t get me wrong, I love our Christmases but…”

“It’s different without your dad and Rafe here?” He finished for her, smiling sadly as she nodded her head.

“Is it bad I miss them even if I know what they’ve done?” She whispered, and in that moment, JJ could see himself. He wasn’t sure if that scared or worried him more. Not that he would tell her that.

“My dad…was not a good guy.” He said, trying not to shrink under her watchful gaze. She looked so hopeful, like he was about to spurt out some wise words. God, the pressure was on now, if there was ever a moment he had to be a good big brother, this was it. “But even now, I think there will always be a part of me that…cares for him.” He cringed slightly at his choice of words. He was never good at voicing his emotions. “You know what your dad and Rafe did was bad, but you also can’t throw away the good memories you have with them. That’s okay, Wheezie. You are allowed to feel sad and miss them. Doesn’t mean you have to forgive them or agree with what they did. It just means you are human.”

Wheezie looked up at him, nodding her head as she quickly wiped her eyes. JJ smiled and opened his arm, allowing Wheezie to tuck herself into his side. “I’m happy you’re here for Christmas, gerbil.” She whispered.

JJ grinned down at her. “Me too, weasel.”

And there wasn’t much speaking after that, just the two of them appreciating the silence and the presence of the other. For a second, JJ forgot about why he was in such a grumpy mood this morning. But in classic Wheezie fashion, she just had to open her mouth again.

“I’m sorry Kiara isn’t coming home for Christmas. I know how much you miss her.” She whispered, and JJ could hear the teasing tone in her voice but chose to ignore it.

“Yeah, I do.” He admitted, ruffling her hair. “Better not be spreading any rumours that I’ve gone soft, can’t have my reputation being ruined.”

She laughed loudly, pushing his hand away as she grinned at him. “What reputation?” She scoffed, letting the laughter die down a little before she spoke up. “It’s a shame we can’t go join her in Australia, always wanted to see a kangaroo.”

JJ rolled his eyes. “You could just go to a zoo or—” He cut himself off, blinking a few times before turning to Wheezie with wide eyes. “Oh, you fucking genius, Wheezus Christ!” He exclaimed, wrapping her in a tight hug that pulled her off her seat before he jumped up onto his feet.

“I—Oh! I mean, I know I am but how exactly in this moment?” She questioned, watching as he excitedly bounced towards the door.

“I’m going to go to Australia!” He grinned.

“What?!”

“You said it yourself, weasel, I can bring Christmas to Kie so she doesn’t have to spend it alone!” He quickly grabbed the door handle, practically flinging it open as he rushed out the room with new found energy and excitement. “I owe you one!” He called out from behind him.

Wheezie sat there, blinking a few times as she realised what she may have just prompted. “Houston, we have a _big_ problem.” She muttered to herself.

“THE POGUES ARE TAKING AUSTRALIA!”

Everyone’s heads snapped to look at JJ as he rushed into the room, looking awfully pleased with himself despite the mutual confusion on everyone’s faces. Even after the moments of silence that followed his exclamation, JJ still didn’t pick up on the fact no one knew what the fuck he was talking about. So, Sarah took one for the team.

“Oh dear brother, what stupid plan have you come up with now?”

“I got us all tickets to go visit Kie in Australia! She can’t come here so we go to her!” He stated bluntly, as though it were the most obvious thing ever.

“All of us?” John B questioned, his head tilted to the side like a lost puppy.

“Yup, you heard me right!” JJ clapped his hands together. “So, pack your bags, we leave tomorrow morning!”

Wheezie looked over at Pope who shared her look of shock and worry. This wasn’t good. This was really not good. Fuck, they had to think fast.

“I-I can’t!” Wheezie quickly spoke up, causing JJ to look over at her with a frown. “I don’t have a passport.” She stated with an exasperated sigh. “Oh no, looks like you will have to go without me.”

“Wheezie, we can’t leave you here alone. You are barely an adult.” Sarah frowned, eyebrows furrowed together. She turned back to JJ with a sheepish expression. “I’m sorry but I can’t leave her here alone.”

JJ let out a small huff, turning towards Pope and Theo. “You guys up for a trip to Australia?” He asked with a hopeful smile.

Theo opened his mouth, but Pope quickly cut him off, elbowing him slightly so he could catch the hint to play along with the bullshit that was about to come out Pope’s mouth. “Actually…we promised Theo’s mum that we would spend New Year’s with her…we were planning on leaving on Boxing Day.” He said with a sympathetic smile. “Sorry but we’re out.”

JJ furrowed his eyebrows together, turning to John B with an hopeful look once again, but he was let down again when JB gave him a small shrug, muttering about sticking with Sarah.

“Wow, great, you all suck as friends.” JJ scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment as he began to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

“To pack my bags! I’m going to Australia alone since I’m the only one who cares about Kie.”

Kiara frowned when she noticed her phone’s GPS be interrupted as she got a call. She wasn’t sure what she was more surprised by, the fact she had signal here to even receive a call or that it was a joint call with Wheezie and Pope—it could only mean something was wrong, or something happened to JJ. Without thinking twice, she answered the call on speaker, thankful the crappy car came with a wee stand where she could put her phone. She opened her mouth to greet the two of them but didn’t get the chance.

_“WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM!”_

“Wow, good morning to you too, Pope.” Kie greeted sarcastically.

_“Shit, yeah good morning, whatever—WE HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM!”_

“Pope, I have had the longest night of my life. I am exhausted, my back in killing me and I am running off of coffee right now. This better be an actual problem or I swear—”

_“JJ is flying to Australia!”_

“WHAT?!” Kiara gasped, her foot accidentally hitting the break, causing the car to jerk to a stop. She muttered a few ‘ _shits’_ under her breath before she quickly started the car again, glad no one was behind her. “What do you mean he is flying to Australia?”

_“Weeeeell…I may have accidentally inspired him to fly across the globe so you wouldn’t be alone on Christmas…”_

“I am not across the globe!”

_“Well I couldn’t exactly say that, could I?”_

Fuck, she doesn’t have enough coffee in her system to deal with sassy Wheezie this early. “You have to stop him.”

_“How?”_

“I…I don’t know but just do something!” She exclaimed, trying to not get too stressed by this possibly huge flaw in her plan. Goddammit JJ, why could he not be less considerate? She was only just an hour away from entering New Mexico. She wouldn’t arrive at North Carolina for another day. That is plenty of time for JJ to hop on a plane and go to Australia. “Do Sarah and JB know?”

_“No, not yet.”_

_“We haven’t told anyone.”_

_“Well, Pope did tell Theo.”_

_“He doesn’t count!”_

“Theo is okay, I can trust Theo with a secret.” Kiara interrupted. Now, she loved John B and Sarah with her whole heart. But Sarah could barely keep a secret for John B, and he had the biggest blabber mouth on the island. They would ruin the surprise, so for the sake of the prank, they decided it was best if only Wheezie and Pope knew. They could keep a secret from JJ.

_“Don’t worry, we got this. We will make sure JJ doesn’t step on that plane.”_

“Great.” She tried to sound reassured but if Kiara was being honest, she felt as though this plan was slipping between her fingers.

You see, Pope Heyward would consider himself a smart person. In the academic sense, he obviously thrives. Everyone knew that. But sometimes Pope was envious of the other kind of intelligence…the whole ‘street smart’ concept. He knew his way around the basics, be cautious and don’t eat yellow snow and all that jazz. But the one thing Pope could not do was lie. And lying was essential when it came to the streets of Outer Banks, especially The Cut. The odd white lie here or there was fairly easy, but _this_? This was not his forte and now the whole plan they have been setting up for weeks relied on his ability to stall JJ, someone who basically lied like it was breathing air…no pressure at all.

Pope’s eyes widened when he saw that JJ was already awake and ready, bags prepared as he stood by the front door. It felt foreign to see JJ take something so seriously, but it wasn’t like Pope had time to just stand there and ogle like he was in some parallel universe. He had to work fast. God, he couldn’t wait for Kiara to return and all this scheming to be over.

“Hey, dude, leaving without saying goodbye?” Pope called out, smiling as casually as he could as he walked towards JJ who looked a little shocked someone else was up so early but smiled back anyways.

“Uh yeah, I have to get to the mainland and then grab a cab to the airport. I don’t wanna be late, apparently it’s their last flight to Australia because of some weather warning.” JJ said with a shrug. “I was going to say goodbye but—”

“Don’t worry about it,” He said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “Hey, here’s a crazy and totally random idea—what if I just drive you to the airport?”

JJ looked at his friend, eyes narrowed slightly. “Really?”

“Pffft, of course!” He said, lightly punching JJ’s shoulder. “It will be cheaper, and I know all the shortcuts to the airport plus we can spend some good ol’ JJ and Pope time together.”

“You feeling good, dude?” JJ asked with a slightly concerned look.

“Yup, never felt better. Now, c’mon, let’s pack your stuff into the back of the car. The first ferry to the mainland is in half an hour.” And with that, Pope grabbed JJ’s suitcase and began taking it outside. He took a quick glance at his watch, whispering a small ‘fuck’ under his breath. Kiara wouldn’t arrive for another couple of hours. Pope just had to make sure that JJ _definitely_ miss his flight. He could do that. Easy.

_Right?_

Kiara genuinely doesn’t believe she has ever felt so stressed nor exhausted in her whole life. She has dealt with overbearing parents and extravagantly annoying kook events, gold heists and mysterious hitmen, she has even dealt with the Chateau toilet after all the boys on Mexican Monday. And yet it is this _stupid_ prank that has most likely given her grey hairs. It was supposed to be easy on her side, she was supposed to watch JJ run around like a headless chicken and just relax until the surprise. Instead, she has had to deal with a never-ending road trip across the country where everything seems to be going wrong.

Except the route.

She had somehow managed to stay on track with the timing of her journey, and she was around thirteen hours away from actually being able to see her friends and family and home again. It was that little fact, that wee concept in her head of everyone’s reactions when they see her, that kept her going. But it was JJ’s she was most excited about. She had been receiving updates from all of the pogues, on how he was taking it and how he lost his holiday spirit.

It did make Kie feel really difficult. It took years to build up happy memories during the holidays for JJ to enjoy and finally look forward to Christmas each year when the season rolled around. It took years to overcome those negative feelings he had for any sort of celebration. And by the sounds of the updates she has received, it almost felt as though she has completely knocked out any joy for the holidays he had. All that hard work down the drain. And as much as she tried to reassure herself that it would be worth it in the end, she couldn’t help but think about everything going completely wrong.

JJ being absolutely pissed and raging at her for lying to him, for messing with his emotions or even with making him think she was alone and wanting to go across the world just so she would have someone with her for Christmas. All of the bad endings circled around in her head like a sick joke, an underlying fear as she drove closer and closer to home. She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to curl up with her friends on the couch, eating as much junk food as she can and then sleep on an _actual_ bed. Six months away and all it took was for one bad road trip to make her completely scrap everything she thought she missed, and focus on the priorities—aka a shower, which she couldn’t wait to have.

However, her fantasies about a nice, warm shower was rudely interrupted when she heard a horrible croaking noise. She frowned, her eyes glancing around in hopes of finding the source of the noise until she began to realise the car slowing down.

“Fuck off, no, no, no!” Kie groaned as she muttered small prayers under her breath, hoping it was a slight malfunction and that the car would just keep driving normally. But just because the universe wanted to fuck her over, the car chugged and chugged and eventually came to a stop.

Kiara jumped out the car, swearing to herself as she popped the bonnet and looked inside, only to be met with black smoke in her face. “Fuck you, you stupid, pathetic piece of shit!” She screamed, kicking the tire in retaliation, only to wince at the throbbing pain it left in her foot.

She let out a small whimper, slowly sliding down to the ground until she was leaning against the car, looking at her surroundings which to no one’s surprise was…nothing. Because she was in the middle of nowhere, with a now broken car that was probably older than her and only the face of her clock reminding her that she wouldn’t be getting home anytime soon. Or anywhere, to be frank.

“I _fucking_ hate Christmas.”

“Pope, are you sure you know where you are going? We can put the GPS on—”

“Nah, dude, I got this. Just chill.”

JJ looked at his friend, eyes narrowed suspiciously at just how _oddly_ calm he was. This is Pope Heyward we are talking about, the epitome of stress bottled up in a human. The same Pope who once got so stressed over a project in the third grade that he was hospitalised. The person sitting in the car with him was definitely not _that_ Pope. JJ wasn’t sure if he was concerned about that matter or grateful. He was stressed enough himself, maybe it was better that at least one of them was calm.

JJ paused his thoughts, not quite believing what he just said.

He glanced over at Pope, watching as the boy constantly glanced between the road and his watch, causing JJ to frown a little. Something was up with him, JJ wasn’t sure what but he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Pope scheming and keeping secrets? Now he really felt like he was in a parallel universe.

JJ glanced down at the time, nibbling on his lower lip. He glanced out the window, noticing that they were surrounded by nothing but random forestry that definitely didn’t look like they would be in or near the city any time soon.

“Pope, don’t wanna stress you out, buddy, but I have to be in the airport in the next forty minutes.” JJ commented, clearing his throat a little as he turned to look at the man in the driver’s seat. “And we look like we are in the middle of _fucking_ nowhere.”

Pope let out a nervous laugh, one that seemed _far_ too suspicious. “Pffft, what, no! Have some faith in me, bro. You won’t miss your plane!” He reassured the blond, who still looked awfully on edge.

“Pope…are you lost?” JJ bluntly asked.

“Wheezus Christ, JJ, calm the fuck down. We are fine, trust me, bro.” Pope scoffed, keeping his eyes locked on the road. He couldn’t look at JJ, because he knew one glare is all it would take for him to just spill everything. God, keeping secrets were much easier when he had Wheezie at his side, she was much better at the whole ‘making up excuses’ thing than he was. He just tried to reassure himself that he just had to fuck around for a _little_ longer. Then, his part in the plan would be done and all that would be left is for Kie to make her grand entrance.

He could do this. It would be easy. He’s got this. He is Pope Heyward. He has faced worse than this. Kie trusted him with this for a reason. He could—

“Hey, do you think it’s weird Kiara hasn’t texted since like yesterday morning?” JJ spoke up, interrupting Pope’s internal motivational speech. Pope was about to open his mouth, tell him that he was being delusional but paused when he realised…JJ was right.

The last time Pope had spoken to Kiara was yesterday morning to inform her on JJ’s crazy plans, and he hadn’t heard from her since. He assumed at first that she was too busy driving to actually text, but even then she would’ve sent the group chat a small update, or even messaged Wheezie and himself about how far she was.

“I-I’m sure she’s fine, probably just a little busy.” Pope said, his voice a little higher than usual. If he was being honest, he was worried himself. But he couldn’t exactly say for the same reason as JJ. “Plus, isn’t it easier to hide your surprise if she is too busy working? She won’t suspect anything.” He added after noticing JJ’s silence.

“Yeah, yeah you’re right!” JJ said with a grin, leaning back in his seat. “Everything is gonna be alright.” JJ nodded, running a hand through his hair as he let out a small puff of air. “Everything is okay.”

“Everything is _NOT_ okay!”

Pope winced slightly, glancing over at JJ with a sheepish smile. You see, Pope had assumed he thought this part of the plan quite well. He thought about all the possibilities and ways it could go wrong, he even prepared for them. But the one thing he forgot? JJ’s temper. Pope, as smart as he may be, totally forgot that he was going to have to deal with JJ’s wrath when he realised that he won’t be boarding that plane any time soon. And now sitting in the car with the blond as he slowly spirals? Pope regrets his lack of preparation.

“JJ, I’m so sorry, dude. I swear I thought I knew where we were going—”

“JUST…stop.” JJ hissed, holding his hand in front of Pope’s face. He had never seen JJ so…worked up before. “We had been _fucking_ lost since we got to the mainland but you were too _fucking_ stubborn to use the GPS.” He muttered bitterly.

“I swear I didn’t realise we were lost—”

“JUST SHUT UP, POPE!”

Pope froze, looking at JJ in shock. He had known JJ since he was a young boy, seen first-hand just how short his temper is and how angry he can get. But he also saw how much JJ hated that side of himself. He hated how much it reminded him of his father, how similar it made them. It was why JJ wanted to change for the better, differentiate himself from his dad. And the pogues were right there with him, helping him through it. But this? Pope couldn’t even remember the last time JJ had yelled at any of them like that, genuinely because it had been so long.

“I-I’m sorry…I…I didn’t mean to…” He watched as JJ struggled to grasp onto his words, looking genuinely distraught by his outbreak.

“JJ, it’s fine—”

“No, it’s not. I…I just gotta—” And with that he quickly jumped out the parked car, desperately in need for some fresh air.

Pope watch as he paced in front of the car, tugging on his hair with glossy eyes and a string of curse words muttered under his breath. Pushing away the slight guilt in his gut from feeling as though he prompted this reaction, Pope slipped out of the car, slowly walking towards JJ.

“You alright there, buddy?”

“I-I genuinely don’t even know why I try anymore!” JJ scoffed, his back towards Pope as he spoke. But Pope knew this was one of JJ’s monologue moments, just needing to get everything off his chest. “I just—FUCK! I didn’t realise it would _hurt_ this much but it does and I just keep bringing my hopes up and then they just shatter and I just…”

Pope watched JJ, his eyebrows furrowed together. He was a little shocked on how…expressive JJ was being. And without realising it, his mind thought back to Theo’s words from earlier, about JJ’s feelings for Kie. Pope wasn’t blind, he always thought there was something underlying between them, but just assumed that neither of them acknowledged it or admitted it to themselves. Now, Pope couldn’t help but think, JJ was finally realising it.

“JJ…do you ever think that maybe you miss Kiara so much because you…love her?” Pope spoke up, slightly hesitant on the blonde’s reaction. 

However, JJ turned to look at him, an incredulous look on his face. “Dude, are you _fucking_ serious right now?”

Well, he definitely wasn’t expecting _that_ reaction.

“Just…let’s just go back.” He muttered, already walking back towards the car. Pope hated how defeated his friend sounded.

“JJ—”

“No, Pope. Just…take me back, alright? It’s too late, it’s all fucked.” He said, eyes glued to look anywhere but Pope. God, he just wanted to scream that Kie wouldn’t be alone, but maybe it was a blessing that JJ didn’t even bother to let him speak.

“Okay, yeah, got it.” Pope muttered, glancing down at his phone in hopes of seeing some update from Kie. But he was met with nothing. “C’mon, Kie.” He whispered to himself before opening up his GPS, ready to for the long and awkward car journey back to the island.

And boy, was it a long and awkward and _tense._

Pope genuinely believed he had never seen JJ so…reclused. He barely spoke or moved, Pope had to strain just to make sure he could actually hear JJ breathing. It was beyond concerning, how disappointed and down JJ was acting. Pope felt guilty, this was just meant to be a harmless prank but…he couldn’t help but feel it had gone too far. Kie should’ve been back yesterday, and now it was December 22nd and she could be anywhere in the country. It felt like a sick joke, like the universe just wanted to keep her away from home on Christmas, except they were all paying the price for it.

But there was a small bundle of hope that Pope clung onto. That everything would be fine, that they would come together and this would just be something to laugh at in the future. Pope was optimistic, or at least he wanted to be. So, despite the dreadfully awkward car journey back to the Cameron Residence, Pope grasped onto that little bit of hope. For his sake, for JJ’s sake, for all of them.

The first disappointment was when he pulled into the driveway, seeing no new car or any sign that Kie had made it home. He parked the car, sitting in the silence for a few seconds before turning to JJ. He opened his mouth, ready to say something, anything but JJ was already out the car, stomping his way to the front door—not even bothering with his bags in the car.

Pope didn’t waste much time before following, barely catching up with JJ as he stomped towards the staircase, not even glancing at the others in the living room. Pope sighed, shaking his head as he watched JJ disappear before facing the confused faces of the pogues.

“Hey, you good? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Theo murmured as he walked up to his boyfriend, giving him a peck on the lips. But Pope’s lack of response only made him more concerned.

“I’m worried about JJ.” He murmured, shaking his head a little before he looked over at Sarah and John B. “I’ve never seen him like this.”

John B frowned. “What?”

Sarah turned to her boyfriend, eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Did you not see the way he just stormed in here?”

“I thought he was just desperate to take a shit.” John B shrugged.

Sarah stared at him, blinking a few times before shaking her head. “God, you are lucky you are pretty.” She murmured before turning to Pope. “I thought you were taking him to the airport, what happened?”

Pope chuckled nervously, rubbing the nape of his neck. “Oh, well…some complications arose?”

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“I made him miss his flight…” Pope admitted with a sigh.

“POPE!”

“I had my reasons!” Pope defended but Sarah didn’t look amused.

She shook her head, fingers pressed to her temple. “Poor JJ…no wonder he looked so pissed.”

“I think he will be alright.”

Everyone’s heads snapped to look at Wheezie, who was calmly flicking through a magazine from her position on the couch. She looked at ease, completely normal, just as you would expect any young teen girl to look. But Pope noticed the small smirk on her lips, that mischievous smirk which he had become acquainted with over the past few weeks, amongst their scheming and plotting.

“No fucking way.” Pope gasped.

“Yup.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh.”

“Holy shit!”

“Can someone please explain what is going on?” John B exclaimed, now even more confused at the smirks and giggles shared between Pope and Wheezie.

JJ wanted nothing more than to lock himself away until Christmas blew over. Whatever remaining festive joy he had was now long gone and if he saw anything red, green or gold—he may puke…or punch a wall. The last three days had been a whirlwind of emotions and now JJ just felt numb, exhausted and done with the world.

He felt guilty for how he treated Pope, and though he wanted to turn around and properly apologise…JJ just felt as though he would only make the situation worse. He needed to just take a breather, stick to himself and just calm down. It’s not Pope’s fault he missed his plane, he was sure it wasn’t intentional. But everything just felt like a personal attack against him. Kiara just seemed to do that to him…completely cloud any common sense or reasonability that he had. She drove him wild and with her not being here after weeks of looking forward to that moment, JJ let the disappointment get to him.

Fuck, he would need to apologise to Pope later, and the rest of the pogues.

JJ sighed, running a hand over his face as he trudged towards his room, in no rush to do anything. However, he froze in his spot when he noticed his bedroom door cracked slightly open. He frowned, his shoulders now tense and body rigid. JJ always closed his door, his privacy was the one thing he had when he lived with his dad—locking his bedroom door was a habit he had always kept up. Especially when he thought he would be in Australia for the next two weeks, he wouldn’t have left his door open.

Slowly, he began to approach his bedroom, mind whirling with all the possibilities. It couldn’t have been one of the pogues, they knew how much he valued his privacy, and he doubted it was Theo snooping around his room. It could be an intruder, but he was sure the alarm would’ve gone off. With one final deep breath, JJ quickly swung the door open and looked inside.

And the sight in front of him was the last one he expected to see.

“Surprise, Jay.”

There, a few feet in front of him, stood Kiara _fucking_ Carrera. Not the Kiara he had been used to seeing for the past six months, all pixilated on his screen and tired from the time difference. Not the Kiara that haunted his dreams and that would disappear before he even got the chance to touch her. No. This was the real Kiara, standing there in all her glory with _that fucking smile_ he missed and adored so much, tears already streaming down her cheeks. He was probably crying too, his cheeks probably hurt from how much he was smiling. But all he could focus on was his Kiara right in front of him, here, back home at last.

He didn’t remember how long he stood there staring at her or when his feet started moving, but next thing he knew he was hugging her tightly, face nuzzled into her neck with no intention of letting her go anytime soon.

“You’re here.”

“I am.”

“How?”

“It’s a _long_ story.”

He pulled back enough to see her face, his hands coming to gently cup her cheeks as if to make sure she was actually there. And when she leaned into his touch and looked up at him with those perfect doe eyes of hers, he knew this was real. She was here. She was really here. “Tell me later,” He murmured, his forehead resting against hers. “I just…I just wanna stay like this for a bit.”

“Fine by me.” She murmured, her arms tightening around him as though she too was scared that he would disappear from her grasp at any given moment. Neither of them were planning to let the other out of their sight, six months lead up to this moment and it was even more perfect than they could imagine.

“Hey, Jay?” She whispered as she tucked her head into the crook of his neck. He grinned at the action, arms tight around her as he leaned his head on hers.

“Hmm?” He hummed in response.

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry _fucking_ Christmas, indeed.”

The pogues glanced at each other, hidden a couple of feet from the doorway of JJ’s bedroom. They couldn’t hear the two clueless idiots, but the whispers and giggles were enough confirmation for the pogues that they _had_ to do something. This had been going on too long, this was the year that it all ends. The mutual pining and longing had to end this Christmas.

“Everyone clear on the plan?”

“Hell yeah!”

“Operation ‘get two idiots to admit that they love each other beyond platonic boundaries’ is a go.”

“Personally, I prefer Operation Jiara, less of a mouthful.”

“Zip it, I’m the captain of this ship, I make up the mission name.”

“You know, you are quite bossy for a teenage girl.”

“Thank you. I take pride in that.”

“It wasn’t a—”

“Wheezus out!”


	2. under the mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy part two of this holiday fic! I am honestly glad it is done, it shouldn't have taken me as long as it did but oh well! Also, there is a slightly steamy scene but it is honestly not that big. But yeah, enjoy!

“There is no way they are _just_ friends.”

“Well, you better believe it because they are.”

“Baby, don’t humour me, look at them! That is _not_ platonic!”

Pope had to admit that Theo did have a point. Currently, they were both sat on the couch, watching as JJ and Kie finished decorating the tree that stood in the living room. Well, they are meant to be decorating. Instead, JJ had been chasing Kie around the living room in attempt to steal back the tree-topper she had snatched from him, claiming that it was _definitely_ her year to put it on top of the tree.

“You are a liar, Kie! Your year was last year!” JJ laughed, attempting to reach out and grab her, but Kie slipped away once again.

“Fuck off, dude! It’s my turn!” She called back, a small shriek escaping her lips when she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her into him. A small ‘oomph’ escaped her lips before she protectively wrapped her arms around the ornament. “I’m not gonna give you it.”

“You choose, Kiara. We do this the easy way or the hard way.” He whispered into her ear, his arms tightly holding her against his chest despite her attempts to wiggle away from him.

“Oh, bite me, Maybank.” She countered.

“You asked for it, Carrera.” He grinned before her laughs began to echo around the room, begging for him to stop tickling her as she wiggled around in his grip. But JJ only snickered, demanding the ornament in return.

Theo turned to Pope, one eyebrow raised slightly. It was a look Pope knew too well, the one that screamed ‘I am right and you know it’. And he would be stupid if he disagreed. JJ was always an affectionate, touchy person. That wasn’t a new thing. Despite what he said about not being much of a hugger, the pogues all knew that JJ was a someone who valued physical touch (in a positive setting), it was the way he showed the people closest to him that he cares and that he trusts them. All of them had seen it over the years, but even the scene in front of him was beyond what they had witness. This was beyond the line of platonic, and they had been dancing around that line for a while now.

Wheezie was right. This has to end this year.

“Okay, so maybe you have a point.” Pope muttered to his boyfriend, now looking away from Kie and JJ who were about two steps away from falling and wrestling on the couch across from them. “But what can we do? Have you met either of them? It’s not like we can just say ‘hey, you two like each other! Get together now’!”

“Well, not with that attitude you won’t.” Theo retaliated.

“What you need is a mastermind!”

Both men let out a scream, wide eyed and lips parted as they looked at Wheezie who had popped out of nowhere from behind the couch they were sitting on.

“God, what the fuck are you, a ninja?” Theo gasped, hand on his chest as he attempted to regulate his wildly beating heart.

However, Wheezie only smiled and jumped over the couch, now snuggly sitting between Pope and Theo. “Oh, get over it, old man. We have some planning to do!”

“Because your plans work oh-so well, don’t they?” Pope muttered, giving Wheezie a sheepish smile when he noticed the glare he received in response. “This is a little more complicated than keeping a secret for a couple of weeks. We are dealing with two inherently stubborn people who have been denying their feelings for years.”

Wheezie narrowed her eyes. “And I am a fifteen year old that always gets what she wants, your point?”

“Well, I’m sold!” Theo chimed in. “Tell us what you got up your sleeve, oh mighty Wheezus Christ.”

Wheezie grinned as she cleared her throat, glancing over towards the other side of the room where JJ and Kiara were far too preoccupied whispering and giggling to each other, all cuddled up and oblivious to the scheming going on a couple of feet away from them. She then turned to the men on either side of her with a victorious look.

“Mistletoe!” She whispered with a mischievous grin.

“Mistletoe?” Theo questioned.

“Mistletoe.” Wheezie confirmed with a nod.

“Your crazy genius plan is a plant?” Pope deadpanned.

“Not just any plant—mistletoe!” She defended, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance when she noticed neither boys looking particularly amazed by her idea. “God, do I have to spell it out for you?”

“Yes please.”

“Would be very much appreciated.”

She rolled her eyes with a small huff. “Okay, fine! It’s simple—we put up mistletoe, we trick the idiots in love to go under the mistletoe, they kiss, realise how amazing it is and how it felt like they were in a fairy-tale and blah blah blah and how they totally have requited feelings and then BOOM! They are happy together, we have done our job and Wheezus Christ has brought yet another happy couple together.”

Both boys stared at her with slightly blank looks.

“Isn’t this a little too hallmark-y to work in real life?” Theo questioned, not fully convinced.

However, Wheezie didn’t even bother to hide her eye roll as she pointed at the oblivious couple. “Look at them, they are practically a walking example of a hallmark movie.” She commented bluntly.

“You got a point there.” Pope muttered.

“This _will_ work, guys. Just have a little faith in me.” She said with a grin. “And forget small scheming groups, this is a whole team effort.” She added.

Pope raised his eyebrows. “You mean…?”

“Yup,” Wheezie grinned. “This Christmas we are all playing cupid.”

“There is something inherently wrong with that sentence.” Theo commented.

**Sneezie:** _listen up losers_

 **Sneezie:** _we are making Jiara happen_

 **Sneezie:** _you in?_

 **Bird Boy:** _wait you are actually letting me in to one of your plans?_

 **Sneezie:** _we are desperate_

 **Spock:** _I still don’t think we should be meddling in this_

 **Sneezie:** _pipe down, no one asked, this is how every relationship starts_

 **Sneezie:** _they just need a push_

 **Sneezie:** _like how did you guys get together?_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _well pope glared at me from across the courtyard and I just knew from that moment he was the one_

 **Sneezie:** _I—_

 **Sneezie:** _moving on…what about Jarah B?_

**The Real Jombee:** _well…I helped his ass sneak into the archives for a treasure hunt_

**Bird Boy:** _created fake aliases_

 **The Real Jombee:** _fell in love as the fake aliases_

 **Bird Boy:** _then fell in love in real life_

 **Sneezie:** _god…you lot are the worst examples of my point_

 **Sneezie:** _long story short, we are getting Jiara to happen, I can’t handle anymore mutual pining_

 **Sneezie:** _I swear JJ talks about her in his sleep, it’s disgusting_

 **Sneezie:** _you guys in?_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _I’m in_

 **Spock:** _me too_

 **Bird Boy:** _why not dude_

 **The Real Jombee:** _totally, my ship needs to happen_

 **Sneezie:** _perfect_

 **Sneezie:** _anyone got any ideas?_

**Spock _:_** _oh come on, it’s mistletoe, how hard it be?_

** POPE’S ATTEMPT **

“I can’t wait for this to fail.” Wheezie muttered, shaking her head with a grin on her face. Pope was far too arrogant on his plan, especially for someone who was ridiculing her perfectly reasonable ideas an hour ago. But Wheezie would have pleasure in proving him wrong and saying ‘I told you so’.

“It won’t fail, and you know why?” Pope grinned as he did a final check on everything he was using in his plan. “Because it’s statistics. They will both have to pass each other whilst going through the doorway _at least_ once, and if we give them more reasons to do so? We increase the chances. Simple. No fanfiction nonsense or hallmark bullshit. Just facts.” He stated with a shrug, so smug for someone who’s plan could still go wrong.

“Love isn’t about statistics and facts, Pope. Have you ever watched a rom-com before?” She scoffed, rolling her eyes as he shooed her to her ‘position’ for this plan. As if the twenty minute debrief on his plan wasn’t enough for her to understand it.

“Just watch, little Cameron, wait and watch.”

The other pogues were sat in their respective places in the living room, casually watching reruns of some crappy soap opera that probably aired before any of them were even born. The plan was set in motion the second JJ and Kiara walked in with pizza boxes, eyebrows furrowed at just how quiet and calm the house was. Quite unusual for the lot of them.

“You guys good?” Kie questioned as she placed the pizza boxes on the coffee table. Yet, everyone simply nodded and turned their attention to the food in front of them—no one really felt like cooking since they were preparing for a massive feast on Christmas anyways.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, perfectly as Pope had planned. Now, it was time for step two of his ingenious attempt.

“Hey, Kie, can you grab me a beer from the fridge?” He asked, tucked happily against Theo’s side, snuggling further into his boyfriend to emphasise the fact he couldn’t get up himself. However, Kie just rolled her eyes and smiled, getting up from her spot to grab him a drink like the good friend she was.

“Anyone else want anything?”

"Yeah, grab a beer for me, would ya?” John B called out.

“Me too!” Sarah chimed in.

“Me three!” Wheezie added, but after seeing the look she got from both Sarah and JJ, she quickly changed her mind. “Never mind, water is fine.”

Pope tried to hide his smile as he reached for another slice. “JJ, you should probably go help her.” He commented.

JJ frowned a little. “Why?”

“Because she might drop something.”

“It’s Kie, she’ll be fine.”

“Dude, I really think you should help her.”

“Nice joke, bro, but I’m good.”

Pope frowned in annoyance, he could almost feel Wheezie’s smirk from his seat. “Dude—”

“I’m honestly offended, Pope,” Kie grinned as she sauntered back into the room. “Five years of waitressing at _The Wreck_ and you think I can’t carry a couple of beers? Wow, thanks.” The sarcasm practically dripping from her words.

Pope blushed a little, clearing his throat. “I didn’t mean it like that—”

“Dude, calm down. I was joking.” Kiara laughed, shaking her head before she hopped back into her seat.

Pope glanced over at Wheezie who was grinning, as expected. “Strike one.” She mouthed to him.

But Pope was stubborn, he wasn’t going to give up that easily yet. He will admit, his first idea was a little flawed, he hadn’t thought it through fully. But the night wasn’t over yet, Pope will be damned if he is outsmarted by two fools in love and a snarky fifteen year old. So, when the next chance arose, he snatched it up.

“Yo, dude, can you grab me a blanket from the other room?” Pope asked JJ was a sheepish grin.

JJ frowned. “Why do I have to do it?”

“You’re the closest.”

“Actually, Sarah is—”

“JJ, please, dude. I’m freezing my balls off over here.”

“Oh dear, can’t have that. Those are my favourite—” But before Theo had a chance to finish his sentence, Pope had slapped a hand over his mouth. The glare he gave JJ was enough to have the blond huffing and getting up from his comfy position to grab Pope a blanket.

Pope watched him carefully, glancing down at his watch and watched as the seconds ticked by. After exactly thirty-six seconds, Pope started the next phase of his plan. “Hey, Kie, can you see if I left my phone in the kitchen?”

Kie looked at him suspiciously. “Weren’t you just texting on it a second ago?”

Pope looked a little taken aback. “Whaaaat? No, pfffft…that was—”

“My phone!” Wheeze quickly chimed in, shrugging her shoulders. “He wanted to see if his favourite nerdy science account had tweeted anything about some…science thing…mitochondria…black hole…thing.”

Kie cocked an eyebrow in amusement. “So, if you have already checked, why do you need your phone? Dude, we are watching a movie anyways.”

“Maybe he’s sexting Theo,” John B snickered. “Damn, Pope, didn’t see you as a dirty-talking kinda guy.”

“Ew, stop, child here.” Wheezie gagged.

“That is not why I need my phone!” Pope blushed wildly. “I-I needed to text my mum about lunch tomorrow! Theo and I were heading over since we are spending Christmas day here.” He huffed out before looking at Kie who was giggling at his flustered state. “Please, Kie?”

“Okay, okay! Don’t get your knickers in a twist!” She called out in a horrible British accent before she got up from the couch.

Just in that moment, JJ had walked back in, now holding a few blankets in his arms. Pope’s eyes widened as he glanced down at his watch before looking back towards the blond. “Shit.” He muttered to himself, this wasn’t how he planned it. “JJ, WAIT!” He called out in a panic.

Everyone froze, looking over at Pope. The boy tried not to cringe as he looked at JJ who had paused at the doorway and Kie who was about half way on her journey to said doorway—the same doorway that both parties were oblivious to the mistletoe taped above them. Fuck, this was meant to be easy.

“Is there a reason I can’t enter the room?” JJ finally called out, glancing around as if expecting some booby trap to swing out of nowhere and attack him.

“Uh, nothing! Thought I saw a…spider. False alarm. Carry on.” Pope muttered sheepishly, feeling a little deflated when he noticed there was no way of them crossing paths under the mistletoe together. Statistics said otherwise, but it seems like JJ and Kiara were far beyond statistics. This just felt like a cruel joke.

He muttered a small ‘thanks’ under his breath as JJ handed him the blanket and Kie gave him his phone, trying to ignore the smug look on Wheezie’s face as held up two fingers.

 _Strike two._

Pope’s mind was reeling for the rest of the night, fairly quiet as everyone watched the movie, the odd comment made here or there. He was also avoiding the ‘I told you so’ memes that Wheezie kept sending him. Where the hell was she getting so many of them? He went as far as temporarily muting here so he could actually think without his phone buzzing every few minutes.

He let out a small huff when the credits began to roll, everyone slowly stretching and starting to get up from their spots. It was late, most of them were tired and just wanted to head to bed but the mess around them said otherwise. So, Sarah and John B grabbed most of the rubbish and went to throw it outside, Wheezie was in charge of putting away all the blankets and Theo and Pope were now in the kitchen, washing any dishes so they wouldn’t have to in the morning. JJ was currently trying to coax Kie off the couch where she was comfortably curled up and peaceful.

“C’mon, you’ll have a sore back in the morning.” JJ muttered as he lightly tugged on her hand, but she just whined and pulled a pillow over her face.

“No, shhh, I’m fine.” She murmured sleepily, but JJ could tell she was waking up.

The blond grinned as he kneeled down beside the couch. “Stop being stubborn, you’ll bitch to me if I let you sleep here. Now, come on. Up you get!”

She tried to swat him away, her hand coming in contact with his face as she half-heartedly tried to push him away. “Noooo!” She huffed out.

This is what Pope was waiting for. His chance to strike once again. He grinned, excitedly swatting Theo’s arm who winced at his overly-excited boyfriend.

"What?” He muttered.

“This is it!” Pope muttered to Theo, eyes shining in excitement.

Theo looked at him, slightly unimpressed. “Baby, you said that the last two times and they flopped.”

“This time it won’t!” He said adamantly.

“You also said that.” Theo muttered but Pope ignored him.

“Alright, you have left me no choice.” JJ sighed as he gently scooped Kiara into his arms, smiling softly as she sleepily nuzzled her head into the crook between his neck and shoulder. “Let’s get you to bed, hm?”

“You’re so loud.” She slurred together, oblivious to JJ’s light snickering. She was exhausted, the time differences clearly taking a toll on her.

“You’ll be thanking me in the morning, you grumpy heathen.” He joked, making sure he had a proper grip on her before he began heading towards the staircase.

Pope grinned expectedly, waiting to stop JJ the second he was in the doorway, except JJ didn’t do that. He was going a different way. Goddamn big kook mansions and their multiple ways of getting around.

“JJ—” He called out, but he was quickly shushed by the blond.

“One sec, dude, can it wait?” But JJ never gave Pope a chance to answer before he was disappearing up the stairs, the small murmurs passed between the couple could vaguely be heard before they were no longer in sight.

Pope sighed. _Strike three._

“This is gonna be a lot harder than we thought.” Pope whispered, his arms wrapping around Theo as the brunette slid his arms around his boyfriend’s waist in an attempt to comfort him.

“I told you sooooo!” Wheezie’s voice came from the living room but Pope paid no heed to her taunts.

**Sneezie:** _surprise surprise, pope’s plan failed_

 **The Real Jombee:** _wheezie be nice_

 **Sneezie:** _I was right tho_

 **Sneezie:** _c’mon guys, we need some romance, not facts_

 **Spock:** _well I don’t see you coming up with anything_

 **Sneezie:** _hey I am carrying this whole operation, thank you very much_

 **Spock:** _sounds like an excuse to me_

**Sneezie:** _I have fifteen years of pent up anger and rage bottled within me, don’t give me an excuse to finally use it_

**Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _yikes, just don’t hurt his face, I am quite fond of it_

**The Real Jombee:** _can we get back to the point? anyone got any ideas?_

**Bird Boy:** _OOH PICK ME! I HAVE AN IDEA!_

**Sneezie:** _well since we are desperate…_

** JOHN B’S ATTEMPT  **

“I take it back, we are not _that_ desperate.” Wheezie muttered, filled with regret as she looked at John B, who was standing proudly with a fishing pole in his hand. Wheezie stole a glance at her older sister, nose scrunched. “When you said he was a catch…I wasn’t expecting this…”

Sarah gave her little sister a deadpanned look. “Have a little faith, it sounds wacky enough that it might actually work.” She said with a shrug, but even she had her doubts on the odd plan her boyfriend had come up with.

“Trust me, I saw it in a cartoon once!” John B said with confidence.

“Oh mamma mia!” Wheezie muttered, shaking her head. However, soon enough she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. It was too late to change plan, they would just have to go with John B’s plan and hope for the best.

Just as John B disappeared up the stairs, JJ and Kie approached the two Cameron girls with smiles on their faces. It was Christmas Eve, which means that Wheezie’s whole plan to get the Jiara ship to sail was starting to get a bit tight. And now she had gone as far as trusting a plan made by John B…god, this was going to be a mess.

“What are you guys doing beside the tree?” JJ asked, watching as both sisters glanced at each other before looking back to the couple.

“Uh, well, you see—” Sarah lightly nudged the younger Cameron with her elbow. Wheezie winced slightly, giving Sarah a side glare before she continued on for her sister.

“—the tree is all wrong and I won’t stand for it! This is the first holiday we are celebrating altogether after months and it needs to be perfect!” Wheezie whined. She hated that they treated her like a child sometimes, but now she was going to use it to her advantage.

JJ looked down at his little sister with a frown. “What? Weasel, two days ago you didn’t even care about the tree. In fact, you made a whole PowerPoint explaining that I was on some Christmas steroids and needed to calm down.”

“Well, I have changed my mind now!” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

JJ looked at Wheezie with narrowed eyes before he glanced over at Sarah, who was looking at him with slightly pleading eyes. The truth was that JJ was a sucker for his sisters, they had him wrapped around their fingers. But Wheezie especially. She had grown up isolated from her family, even though she had her moments with Sarah. JJ related to her in that sense. So, when he eventually moved in with the Cameron sisters, he made a vow to himself to be the best brother he could, be the brother that Rafe never was.

“Fine,” He sighed dramatically, though there was a smile on his face. “Can’t have Wheezus Christ being upset this holiday season!”

And just like that, John B’s plan was working…somehow. It truly was a Christmas miracle.

Wheezie watched the couple from the other side of the tree, she had been watching them for some time now. The whispers they shared, the giggling as they jokingly jabbed at each other. Wheezie had to remind herself at some points to not stare, but with how long it took John B to go through with the next stage of his plan, she needed some entertainment. He was sure taking his time. She was starting to run out of reasons why the tree wasn’t perfect enough for them to leave it alone.

“JJ, fuck off!” Kie laughed as she shoved his shoulder, attempting to keep the tinsel he was dangling in her face away.

“No, come on! Your sneeze was so cute!” He said with a wide grin on his face as he attempted to wrap his arms around her from behind and trap her. Unfortunately for Kiara, it worked.

“Dude, stop!” And though she tried to make it threatening, it did not work. Instead she was left with her feasible attempt to trying to wiggle away from him. However, before Wheezie even had the chance to scold them or take a picture, she suddenly noticed a fishing line being lowered over the couples’ heads.

Kiara was the first to notice it, a small frown on her face as she watched it lower until it was a couple of inches over her head. After realising Kie was no longer paying attention to him, he glanced around to see what had caught her attention. His face mirrored her confusion.

“Uh, what is this?” JJ called out, glancing over at his sisters who simply shrugged in response. He didn’t even notice the matching smirks on their faces.

“Well, you know what tradition says!” John B had called from above, where he stood on the landing, grinning down at his friends.

“And what tradition involves hanging parsley from a fishing line on Christmas Eve?” Kie questioned, not bothering to hide her amusement when she saw John B’s eyes widen.

Wheezie glanced over at the fishing hook, finally noticing the clearly obvious flaw to John B’s plan before she snapped her head up to look at the man, her glare harsh and threatening. John B gulped.

“Uh, pffft, you know—” He struggled to find an excuse. “It’s a tradition in _The Cut_. Maybe something you never experienced in _Figure 8_.”

JJ frowned. “I don’t remember this tradition.”

“Uhhh,” John B hummed before he let out a laugh. “Haha, you caught me! I was just trying out some new fishing bait and thought I’d try and prank you guys.”

“Hilarious.” Kie said bluntly, but there was a small smile on her face.

“Right, well I should get going—” John B stated as he began to reel the fishing line back up to him. However, he failed to notice anything in the path of the fishing hook until it was too late.

_SMASH!_

All five of them stared at the smashed tree topper that now laid on the ground, in pieces. You could barely tell it was an angel anymore.

“That belonged to our great great grand-mother.” Sarah whispered.

“At least she isn’t alive to see it?” JJ spoke up in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Wheezie sighed, shaking her head in annoyance. “Plan B failed. Time for Plan C.” She muttered to herself whilst the others began to clean up the mess of the broken porcelain angel topper.

**Sneezie:** _what have we learnt today?_

 **Bird Boy:** _…_

 **Bird Boy:** _no more trusting me to make up plans_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _no offence dude but like_

 **Spock:** _how did you think parsley was mistletoe?! they look nothing alike!_

 **The Real Jombee:** _doesn’t matter now, can’t change it_

**Sneezie _:_** _christmas is tomorrow guys, we are running out of time_

**Spock:** _I thought we had until the end of the year?_

 **Sneezie:** _ummm no_

 **Sneezie:** _dude have you not been listening to me? we need them together so that they can have a happy christmas and then the holidays will always be a good time for them and then they can spend the new years actually being a couple because I am sick of seeing JJ look at Kie longingly every year when the clock strikes twelve_

 **Spock:** _…_

 **Spock:** _fair enough_

 **Bird Boy:** _so who’s up next?_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _well actually…_

 **The Real Jombee:** _while you guys have been fucking up your ideas_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _Sarah and I came up with a WAY better plan_

**Spock _:_** _wait what??_

**Sneezie:** _oh thank god, faith is restored once again_

**Bird Boy:** _do you need to borrow my fishing pole?_

 **Sneezie:** _I—_

 **The Real Jombee:** _god it’s a good think you are pretty baby_

** SARAH AND THEO’S ATTEMPT **

“You know what…I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

Somehow, the group had found themselves wanting to eat out tonight rather than ordering in food like they had been doing the past week. And somehow, Kie had managed to convince everyone to eat out at the local diner—the same diner JJ used to visit with his mother when he was younger. He didn’t say anything, but by the smile on his face it was clear he appreciated the gesture. However, it was just their luck that tonight happened to be karaoke night and well…now they were watching JJ and John B perform a horrible rendition of _‘Baby it’s cold outside’_ which was definitely a scarring memory that none of them needed. Especially when they started their awful attempt of twerking.

Kie couldn’t help but let out a snort when they had finally finished their little performance and slipped back into their chairs. Somehow, Sarah had convinced them to get a table in the middle of the diner rather than a booth—Wheezie had a feeling it was somewhat related to her and Theo’s plan. But she kept her mouth shut for now.

“Now I wish I really was stranded in Australia.” She joked as JJ took his seat next to her, arm wrapped around the back of her chair. However, he only grinned wider at her, his chest heaving a little as he and John B tried to catch their breaths.

“You wound me, my heart is crushed!” He sighed dramatically, hand pressed against his forehead as he leaned his body against Kie, only for her to shove him off.

“Piss off.” She laughed.

“God, Christmas is ruined, my innocence is gone!” Wheezie gagged, causing the couple to look over at her.

Kie grinned over at the younger Cameron. “Don’t worry, one day you will be numb to this dumbassery.” She assured her.

JJ pouted lightly. “Stop being a spoil sport! It’s called being adventurous, Kie. Don’t diss it just because you are boring.”

Kie frowned, eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Hey, I am not boring! I do adventurous stuff.” She defended.

“Oh yeah?” JJ grinned as he leaned forwards, his face a few inches from hers. “I dare you, Kiara Carrera, to go up there and sing a song. Full song. Put on a performance in front of everyone here.”

The group watched closely as Kie cocked an eyebrow, her eyes lingering on JJ’s lips a little too long before she caught his gaze again. “That it?”

“That’s it.” He confirmed.

“You’re on, Maybank.” She said confidently. “And if I complete the dare?”

“Then…I’ll do whatever you want for a whole day.”

“You do that anyways.”

“Then, I will do it without any complaints.”

She grinned. “Deal.”

He grinned back. “Deal.”

Wheezie turned to look at the others, lips parted slightly at the whole scene that just unfolded in front of them. It seemed a little intense for just friends. However, when she glanced over at Sarah and Theo, neither one of them looked awfully surprised. Instead, they looked quite smug. Wheezie narrowed her eyes. Had they planned for all of this? How had they planned all this?

Kie lightly shoved JJ’s face away as she stood up, ready to head towards the stage that was currently empty, waiting for the next singer. However, just before she left the table, Sarah quickly grabbed Kie’s arm and tugged her down so she could whisper something in her ear. Kie’s eyes glanced over towards JJ before she nodded, smirking as she headed towards the stage.

The rest of the group looked as confused as JJ as they watched Kie closely, seeing her quietly talk to the DJ before she grabbed the mic from the stand it was on.

For a few seconds, the diner felt far too quiet. Everyone waiting to see what song Kie would sing. JJ, however, could barely keep still on his seat. He watched her with eager eyes, fingers fiddling with the rings that adorned his hands in attempt to calm himself down. However, the second the music began to sound from the speakers, Wheezie had a feeling that his excitement would only heighten.

_“Santa baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me  
I've been an awful good girl_

_Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight._

_Santa baby, a '54 convertible too, light blue_ _  
I'll wait up for you dear  
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight_ _.”_

The pogues’ eyes widened slightly, not only at the song choice but also just how damn amazing Kie’s voice was. Wheezie’s head snapped over to Sarah who was grinning like an idiot, before leaning over so she could whisper to her older sister.

“Did you know she could sing this well?” She whispered, looking over at Kie with curious eyes before returning her gaze to Sarah.

The older Cameron looked down at her sister with a smug look. “Yep,” She grinned, leaning a little closer so she could lower her voice. “And thanks to JB’s big mouth, I also know that JJ has drunkenly confessed that he would ‘combust on the spot’ if a certain dream girl of his sang this. Apparently our dear brother enjoys Christmas songs more than he allows us to believe.”

Wheezie wasn’t sure if she wanted to cringe at her brother’s words or applaud her sister’s genius thinking. However, when she glanced over at JJ, she tried to hide her snort. He sat on the edge of his seat, lips parted with eyes glued on Kie. Oh, Sarah and Theo were definitely masterminds, she will give them that. Wheezie actually had hope for this plan.

_“Think of all the fun I've missed  
Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed  
Next year I could be just as good  
If you'd check out my Christmas list.”_

However, Kie seemed to be taking this way further than any of them expected. JJ asked for a performance, well he was getting a damn performance. Kie was the last person to back out of a dare. She would do it and she would do it well.

Slowly but surely, she began to make her way off the stage, her eyes never leaving JJ’s as she continued to sing. Her voice was smooth and quite sultry as she walked around the diner, a small smirk on her lips. She was teasing him, walking around the tables, getting close to him before she moved somewhere else. And JJ had no complaints as he watched her, the boy being the definition of the heart eyes emoji in this moment.

However, Wheezie’s curiosity got the best of her as she leaned over towards Theo. “So, is your plan for them to just ogle at each other or?” She whispered.

Theo turned to Wheezie with a grin. “Just wait,” He assured her. “Sarah’s got the mistletoe, actual mistletoe this time. We are just waiting for the right moment.”

“Okay—”

“I don’t have the mistletoe! You have it!” Sarah interrupted, leaning over John B—who didn’t seem awfully bothered—as she looked at Theo with a slightly concerned expression.

“No I don’t! You said you’d get it!”

They looked at each other, eyes wide. “Shit.” They muttered at the same time.

“There is that festive pop up shop like down the road from here, maybe you can buy some mistletoe?” Wheezie suggested, watching the two of them silently converse between each other. Soon enough, Sarah was slipping out the diner and Wheezie was starting to lose faith once again.

_“Santa honey, one thing that I really need, the deed  
To a plex of my  
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight_

_Santa cutie, fill my stocking with a toplex, and checks  
Sign your 'X' on the line  
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight.” _

However, now Wheezie wasn’t sure Sarah would get back in time.

Kiara began to make her way towards JJ, eyebrows raised slightly at the look of shock and awe on his face. She leaned down slightly so their faces were on the same level, her voice still strong as she continued to sing. Kie wasn’t much of a fan of being the centre of attention, to be honest, neither was JJ. Yet, neither of them seemed to care that the whole diner was staring at them. They were in their own little world.

And much to everyone’s shock, she didn’t stop there. JJ’s cheeks flushed pink when Kie casually took a seat on his lap, legs on either side of him as she straddled him. JJ’s hands automictically resting on her waist as if it was a natural instinct. He smirked up at her as she trailed her free hand over his shoulder before she ran it through his hair, lightly tugging his head back.

The pogues’ eyes widened. Theo quickly covered Wheezie’s eyes. Someone had to protect her innocence from all of this. She was probably the youngest person at this diner, considering everyone else was drunk and cheering the couple on, clearly too inhibited to actually care what was happening in front of them.

_“Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring  
I don't mean on the phone  
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight  
Hurry down the chimney tonight  
Hurry, tonight.” _

And just when the pogues assumed the plan would work without the interference of the group, Kie pressed a kiss onto JJ’s cheek and quickly moved off his lap as she walked back to the stage, finishing off her little performance with a bow as the diner cheered and clapped.

Theo eventually removed his hand from Wheezie’s eyes, allowing her to finally see again though her blocked view for most of that wee performance did not stop her from looking at the group with her mouth agape.

“Friends, my ass.” Theo scoffed under his breath as Kie returned to her seat, looking at everyone with an innocent smile. She then turned to JJ with a smug look.

“I think it’s safe to say I win, don’t you think?” She asked.

It took JJ a few seconds to process her words before he nodded, clearing his throat. “Yeah, totally, you win.” His voice cracking a little, his cheeks still flushed a bright pink.

“Any way I could convince you to wear one of those cute little maid outfits?” She asked in a sweet voice, watching as JJ rolled his eyes but the smile was still there.

“We’ll see, Carrera.” And just like that, they were back to acting like the past five minutes had never happened.

Just then, Sarah came running back into the diner, out of breath and panting. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the scene in front of her, a look of confusion over her face when she saw how…totally normal everything was.

“Hey, where were you?” Kie questioned when she noticed Sarah had returned.

Sarah glanced over at Wheezie who quickly shook her head before she looked over at Kie, the small bag with the mistletoe in it hidden behind her back. “Uhh…I had a phone call, really important, sorry.” She said with a small shrug as she quickly took her seat next to John B.

“Is everything okay?” JJ asked with a small frown.

“Oh yeah, it wasn’t important.” Sarah said casually.

JJ’s frown deepened. “But you just said—”

“So,” Pope quickly interrupted. “Everyone ready to order?”

**Sneezie:** _I think they are cursed_

 **The Real Jombee:** _I think I’m cursed, I can’t believe I missed a pivotal Jiara moment_

 **Sneezie:** _does it even matter? they are acting like nothing happened!_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _this is a lot harder than I thought it would be_

 **Bird Boy:** _or maybe we are all just shit at coming up with plans_

 **Spock:** _alright parsley boy_

 **Bird Boy:** _at least mine was a little more creative than science and facts_

**Sneezie:** _GUYS! can we please get back to the point!_

**The Real Jombee:** _what else can we do? we have tried everything!_

**Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _I mean we still have the whole ‘fake kidnapping them and hoping the fear of possibly dying soon will allow them to admit their feelings so they don’t die with any regrets’ plan…_

 **Sneezie:** _dude what_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _you said to treat this like a fanfiction!_

 **Sneezie:** _yeah but not a freaking wattpad story_

 **Spock:** _so what do we do?_

 **Sneezie:** _the only think that is left for us to do…our last attempt_

 **Spock:** _which is?_

**Sneezie:** _pogue meeting in the living room in five minutes, this ends now_

**Bird Boy:** _that doesn’t sound threatening at all…_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _so…that’s a no to the whole fake kidnapping idea? cause I have some guys ready, like literally one phone call away…_

 **Spock:** _THEO!_

 **Wheezus No.1 Fan:** _FINE! but let me just tell you that Alejandro is an emotional dude, he is gonna be really upset_

** THE FINAL ATTEMPT  **

JJ was currently laying on the couch, happily sprawled out with Kie leaning back on him, sitting between his legs with her back pressed against his chest. He liked this position, with his chin rested on the top of her head as he watched her aimlessly scroll through different social medias, before they eventually got sucked into TikTok. It was simple, nothing extravagant. Just them giggling or cringing at these videos, JJ absentmindedly playing with her curls while she tried to persuade him to make a few cringy TikToks with her—he obviously said no every time but he knew he’d be roped into it eventually. It was peaceful, just the two of them together. He treasured moments like these.

But of course, the universe couldn’t let them have these moments for too long.

“Alright, this needs to end!” Wheezie called out as she entered the living room, the rest of the pogues quick on her heels.

JJ and Kie looked away from her phone screen, now with matching looks of discombobulation. They glanced at each other before returning their gaze to Wheezie, who was standing a few feet away with her arms crossed and a very annoyed look on her face.

“What needs to end exactly?” Kie asked, sitting up and therefore ruining the comfortable position they were in before, much to JJ’s dismay.

“This!” Wheezie hissed as she gestured between the two of them. “Do you understand what we have all been through because of _this_!”

She was met with blank looks again.

“Wheezus Christ!” She huffed before turning her attention to the other pogues, looking a bit done with the situation before she turned back to the oblivious couple.

“We have been through so much over these past few years, but these past few weeks have been the worst!” Wheezie complained, hands on her hips now. “Pope and I had to deal with Kie setting up this whole surprise plan and act like it was a ‘platonic gesture’—”

“—then we had the whole fiasco of convincing JJ’s dumbass self not to fly across the world!” Pope chimed in.

“Then we had to deal with Wheezie recruiting us for some crazy plans that just kept failing.” Theo added in.

“We had to deal with Pope’s boring powerpoint on the science of walking through a fucking door.” John B huffed out.

“We also had to deal with John B’s inability to use a fishing pole and smashing a family heirloom.” Sarah added, with a pointed look towards her boyfriend.

“And then the whole diner thing happens—”

“AND YOU GUYS ACT LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED!” Wheezie quickly interrupted Theo, who pouted a bit.

“Wait, you guys were acting all weird on purpose?” Kie asked, still awfully confused as she tried to piece everything together.

“YES!” Wheezie exclaimed. “Because we are all sick and tired of you guys denying the obvious feelings you have for each other just because you are scared of what it will do for your friendship when it reality you two are clearly idiots in love and deserve each other very much and need to put us out of our misery while we wait for this ship to sail! Of course we had to bloody intervene—” She gasped for air, her chest heaving slightly. “—because you two clearly can’t do it yourselves!”

JJ’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Wait…so you guys have been acting off for the past few days because you were trying to set me up with Kie?” He asked.

“YES!” They all yelled together.

The couple turned to look at each other, then the group and then back to each other before the burst out laughing. Now, it was the pogues’ turn to be confused.

“Why are they laughing?” John B whispered to the others as JJ and Kiara desperately tried to catch their breath.

“I don’t know but it kinda scares me.” Sarah whispered back as she watched the couple with narrowed eyes.

“Guys,” JJ finally spoke up, wiping away any tears that escaped while he was laughing. “Hate to burst your bubble about being the ones to bring us together and stuff but…” He trailed off, wrapping his arms around Kie’s waist once again.

“But JJ and I have been dating for months now.” Kie continued, her cheeks beginning to hurt from how much she was smiling and laughing.

“WHAT?!”

“I KNEW IT!” Theo shouted, though he quickly quieted down when he saw the looks the pogues gave him. “Right, sorry, not the right moment. Carry on.”

Wheezie stared at the couple, absolutely gobsmacked at the confession. “Since when?”

“Well…” JJ and Kie trailed off as they looked at each other, the adoration clear in their gazes. How could they have been so oblivious?

“It happened back in July…”

_***FLASHBACK STARTS***_

_Kie hummed along happily to the song blasting from her phone, a little jump in her step as she manoeuvred around her room, attempting to make decisions on what was absolutely necessary to take with her and what she could leave behind. She knew six months was a long time, but everything she picked up the thought that it would be so long until she saw it again almost made her want to pack everything away._

_As she placed a few more bits and bobs in one of the boxes, her eyes caught a framed photo on her bedside table. Placing everything down on her desk, she moved until she sat on her bed, reaching for the frame. As she held it in her hands, a smile automatically made its way onto her face. It was taken last summer, the day the last of their legal business with the gold had been dealt with. It was a happy day, one to celebrate. The picture was a bit ironic, the lot of them all dressed up in formal clothing for the day at court, but the energy was just pure chaotic pogues. Arms wrapped around each other, Wheezie squeezed in the middle at last minute, all of them smiling and laughing. After years of heists and loss and pain, they were finally allowed to be happy._

_Just then, she was startled out of her thoughts when she heard something knocking against her window. She glanced over, eyes squinted when she noticed a figure by her window, but the darkness of the night concealed their features. Placing the frame down, she walked towards the window. It was only when she got closer that she realised the fool that was risking their life of the edge of her window was actually a blond dumbass she knew very well._

_“JJ!” She hissed out as she quickly opened the window, helping him inside before she closed and locked it once again. She then turned to the blonde, however, her smile dropped when she noticed the distressed look on his face. “Jay, are you—”_

_“I-I’m not okay!” He breathed out, shaking his head. His gaze was directed on the floor, he could barely even glance at her. “I just…I don’t know! One minute I was at the Chateau and then I was running out and I just kept running and running and I somehow ended up here and I just—” He gasped as he tried to catch his breath, his eyes starting to gloss over with tears._

_“Hey, hey, shhh! It’s okay, just breathe, Jay. Deep breaths with me.” She whispered as she placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to help him ground himself as he calmed down._

_It took a while before his breathing returned to normal, but now his head was leaning against her shoulder, their hands intertwined whilst her free hand ran through his hair—she knew he loved it. And when she thought he was finally okay, she spoke up again._

_“What happened, Jay?” She asked softly, pulling her hand away from his hair and gently lifting his head so she could actually see his face. He looked at her, she could almost hear the gears in his head turning as he contemplated his words._

_“I was talking to Pope,” He eventually spoke up, his eyes looking down at his hands as he spoke. He needed to get this off his chest and he didn’t think he could do that whilst looking at her, she would just distract him. “We were just talking about everything, you know? With John B thinking of moving over to the mainland with Sarah, with Pope heading back to Pennsylvania, with Wheezie heading back to the academy even though she wants to go to Kildare High.” He said, the last one with a bit of a laugh._

_But then his eyes went distant, and suddenly his leg was shaking and his thoughts were running and he just needed to put some space between them. He stood up abruptly, beginning to the pace around Kie’s room as he continued to speak._

_“And then we started talking about how you are going over to Australia, and of course I am so fucking happy for you. I mean, you were chosen from over five hundred candidates, everyone is so proud of you!” He paused, his words getting him all choked up. “And then Pope made this…comment and I just…I don’t know, it made me feel…sick.” He admitted._

_Kie finally stood up, slowly making her way to JJ who had frozen in the middle of the room, as though his feet were nailed to the ground. She stopped when she was just in front of him. “What did Pope say?” She asked in a soft voice, almost scared of what the answer would be, what make JJ so…on edge._

_He let out a dry laugh, no trace of amusement laced in his voice. “He just made some stupid comment about how you’d be in Australia with all these ripped blond surfer dudes and have so many to choose from and I—” He paused, finally looking up at her as he spoke his next few words. “And I realised that I wanted to be the only ripped blond surfer dude that would be with you. I wanted to be the only ripped blond surfer dude in your life.”_

_Kie could’ve sworn she felt the air leave her lungs._

_“Because the thought of you being with anyone else just makes me sick, Kie,” He continued. Her silence scared him but he had waited so long to say these words, he had ran all the way from the Chateau to Figure 8 to tell her these words. He couldn’t stop now. “I want to be the only one you kiss. I want to be the only one you hold hands with and cuddle and go out on cheesy dates with. I want to be the one you wake up to in the morning and think ‘wow today is going to be a great day’ because Kie, when I think of all those things all I can think about is you. And I know my timing is shitty because you are going away to Australia in a few days and—”_

_He was cut off by Kiara pressing her lips against his._

_His hands automatically reached for her waist to steady her, the kiss taking him by surprise and causing him to stumble back a little. Her hands rightfully found themselves in his hair once again, and a light groan escaped his lips when she tugged lightly on his locks. She kept a note of that. And eventually when they both needed air, they pulled back the smallest of distance, their lips ghosting one another as their breaths mixed together. There was barely any space between them but that was exactly how they wished it to be._

_“You talk too much.” She whispered softly, and JJ could’ve sworn that a shiver ran down his spine when he felt her words against his skin._

_“Well, if you keep shutting me up like that then maybe talking a lot isn’t a bad thing.” He whispered, his hands squeezing her sides lightly as he spoke. But all JJ could think was that he just wanted her closer._

_She opened her eyes, looking up at him with a look that made him feel absolutely speechless. It was a look that he never thought he would see in his life, a look he never thought he deserved. A look of pure love and adoration. It knocked the breath right out of him._

_“I want you to be my ripped blond surfer dude too.” She whispered softly, a small grin on her lips._

_But JJ’s smile was much wider. “Oh yeah?” He murmured happily as he began to help her walk backwards, one destination in his mind and when they both fell onto her mattress, his smile only grew. “You know, six months is a long time to be away from each other…”_

_She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, it is.”_

_“Which means I should probably give you a good reason to not run off with some wannabe surfer.” He hummed as he began to softly place small kisses from the edge of her lip, along her cheek and jaw before he eventually reached her neck, desperate to find that spot that made her gasp and shiver under his touch._

_“Hm, really?” She breathed out, her eyes fluttering shut as her hands gripped the fabric of his shirt in quiet desperation._

_“And I think I know just the way.” His breath was hot and light against her skin, she could barely pay attention to what he was saying when his lips softly bit and lick that spot that made her arch slightly into him._

_But you see, as much as Kiara enjoyed the feeling of JJ’s lips on her skin and his fingers tracing along her torso as they slipped beneath her shirt. She didn’t enjoy the smugness in his voice, the arrogance he gained from seeing just what he did to her. The small gasps and whines that left her mouth as his lips and fingers worked their way down her body. Before he even had a chance to think what she was doing, Kie’s thighs were clenching his sides seconds before she flipped them over, with her now grinning down at his pure look of shock._

_“Holy shit.” He murmured before he was leaning up to catch her lips once again, his hands finding their new home underneath her shirt. Kie smiled a little at his words before she trailed her hands down his chest, finding the hem of his shirt and tugging on it._

_JJ soon enough got the hint, pulling away from her so he could quickly take his shirt off and throw it into god-knows which corner of her room. As long as it was off, neither of them cared. Kie lightly shoved him so he was laying on the bed again, only for him to wince._

_“Shit, Jay, are you okay?” She asked, a voice of concern as she glanced along his torso. She thought she had maybe pressed or irritated an injury. He hadn’t told her that he had been in any fights lately, nor had he seen his dad in months, but she couldn’t be too careful. However, JJ only frowned as he reached beneath him and seconds later pulled what had been poking into his back._

_Kie grinned a little at the framed photo, watching as JJ’s face softened a little when he saw what it was. He turned to her with a small grin, handing her it back before watching her lean over and place it back in its spot on her bedside table. Soon enough, JJ’s hands were on her and roaming her skin, not that she particularly minded._

_“It’s a bit unfair that I’m showing all this skin and you’re wearing all of this,” He muttered as he tugged her shirt up. “This is meant to be an equal relationship, Kiara.” And with way he said her name, she couldn’t help but feel her skin heat up slightly. She nibbled her lower lip in attempt to keep herself from moaning just from hearing him use her full name when…his voice just sounded like one of the most attractive things she has ever heard in her life._

_She had no complaints when JJ pulled her shirt over her head, his eyes drinking in the sight of her and past-Kiara’s grateful choice of having nothing underneath. “You will be the death of me,” He groaned lightly and before she knew it, his lips were on her skin once again as she lightly rocked against him. Her hands tugged at his hair, enjoying the vibrations of his moans as his lips kissed and licked every bit of her skin that he could, like he wanted to mesmerise her body._

_She could feel his breath on her skin as he pulled away the slightest bit before he looked up at her. She could almost groan at the sight of his hair all dishevelled and messy, his eyes darkened and his lips slightly wet and swollen. It was a sight she wanted to never forget._

_“I want to ruin you, Kiara. I want to make sure that you are mine as I am yours even when you are thousands of miles away from me. I want you to remember this night for the next six months because, baby, this isn’t even half of the things I want to do with you.” His voice low and husky, and just when she thought he couldn’t get any hotter. Slowly, his lips placed a trail of kisses until his breath tickled her ear and his fingers doing a magnificent job of distracting her as they teased the hem of her pyjamas, lightly dipping in to make her gasp before moving away from where she truly desired him. However, his next few words alone at her throwing her head back with a moan._

_“I want to hear you scream my name, Kiara. Make them hear all the way down in Australia.”_

_***FLASHBACK ENDED***_

The pogues all stared at the couple in shock, none of them quite sure what had just happened in the last ten minutes. They had spent the past two days going out of there way to get this couple together. They schemed and planned and did everything they could. They put blood, sweat and tears into this only to realise that they were so wound up in themselves that they didn’t even notice JJ and Kiara didn’t actually need their help? That they have been together for six months now?

Talk about feeling like a clown.

“I’m sorry,” Sarah eventually spoke up, looking between the two of them with slightly narrowed eyes. “So, you guys have been together for six months and never once thought to tell us?”

“Like you guys said, our feelings weren’t exactly unknown. We thought you guys already knew.” Kiara said with a shrug.

“How were we supposed to know?!” John B questioned.

“Well, it wasn’t like we were going out of our way to hide it.” JJ spoke up, his arms happily wrapped around Kie who was now comfortably sat on his lap.

“Yeah, you really think I would give an amateur lap dance to someone in public if I wasn’t with them?” Kie pointed out with a snort.

“That was really hot, by the way. Should definitely do that again, no complaints over here.” JJ commented, looking up at his girlfriend with a smirk.

“Well, there would be plenty of complaints over _here_.” Pope pointed out with a blank look, but his lectures on public indecency and exotic dances could wait for now.

“Well—” Theo tried to speak up but was quick to shut up when Pope kicked his leg. “Okay, never mind, I won’t embarrass you in front of your friends…right now.” He said with a grin.

Pope tried to look unbothered but the blush gave him away. He cleared his throat and continued. “Look, we are all happy for you—”

“—but you would’ve saved us a great deal of effort if you had told us.” Wheezie deadpanned. “We have been following you around for two days with a branch of mistletoe. Now we look like idiots.”

“Yeah, you do—” But JJ was cut off by Kie elbowing him, a small wince escaping his lips.

“Be nice.” She muttered before she turned to Wheezie with a smile. “At least the past two days have been eventful?”

“I feel like such a clown, how could I not know that my OTP were together?!” Wheezie huffed out as she shook her head, leaning back on the sofa.

“Well, this surely won’t be a Christmas to forget.” Theo chimed in with a grin, everyone else laughing along as they nodded in agreement.

“Hey, dude, how did _you_ work out that we were an actual couple?” JJ piped up, remembering Theo’s reaction when the couple had confessed the true status of their relationship.

“Easy,” Theo said with a shrug. “It was all in the eyes.”

“The eyes?” Pope questioned with a frown.

“Yes, my dear love, not everything is about science and brain waves and shit.” Theo said with a teasing smile. “My whole degree is basically looking at all these paintings, and you’d be surprised just how many of them revolve around love. It’s always the eyes. In every single painting and drawing and piece of art, no matter what, the eyes always tell you the truth.”

The pogues looked at him with slightly blank look.

“A person’s eyes are the windows to their souls. They hold so much emotion, so many stories, they hold the truth.” Theo continued. “And when JJ would look at Kie while she was just doing some random mundane thing, or when Kie would watch JJ just smile and relax. You could see it, in their eyes.” He turned to Sarah and John B. “It’s the same look you give each other.” He then turned to Pope. “It’s the same look I give you.”

Pope smiled up at him. “What does it mean?”

“It’s that kind of look when you know that person is worth everything. Every hardship, every struggle, every obstacle in your life. It’s all worth it because it has lead you to that person. It’s that look that you know you’d do anything for them because you love them.” He answered and watched as Pope’s smile grew before he leaned over to press a kiss against his boyfriend’s lips.

“God, way to make me feel single.” Wheezie complained. Though she had to admit it was kind of cute what Theo had said, but she was slightly envious that she had somehow wound up being the seventh wheel this Christmas.

“Oh, shush! You’re too young to date.” JJ said with a pointed look.

“I am almost sixteen!” She defended.

“Yeah, and I was in jail at sixteen. You wanna know why?”

“Because you’re a dumbass.”

“Because I dated.”

Wheezie rolled her eyes at her brother, but he could see the small smile tugging on her lips. Instead, she decided to entertain herself by joining in the other’s conversation.

JJ turned to look up at Kie, who was already grinning down at him. She had this soft look on her face as she gently cupped his cheek. JJ nuzzled into her palm, smiling when he heard that quiet little giggle of hers.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He questioned, he was curious what was going on in that head of hers.

“Nothing, just thinking about what Theo said.” She murmured with a shrug, her thumb lightly caressing his cheek. “It made me realise something.”

“Hm, what?”

“My favourite part of you.”

He smirked up at her. “Oh really? Well JJ Jr is flattered and likes you too.”

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Not your dick, you nasty.” She muttered, ignoring JJ’s murmurs about how JJ Jr was hurt and offended.

“Then please enlighten me, oh my darling Kiara, light of my life. Tell me what your favourite part of me is.” He sighed dramatically.

“Your eyes.”

“My eyes?”

“Your eyes.”

“Why?” He questioned with a slight frown.

“I just do.” She said with a shrug.

“I never really liked my eyes, to be honest. Everyone used to say they reminded them of my dad’s.” He admitted to her.

“Well, I love them. Not because of your father’s genetics, but because they are yours.” She stated matter-of-factly. “They are the window to your soul and, JJ Maybank, I just so happen to be in love with your soul.”

He looked up at her, his expression softening slightly before he leaned up to kiss, to which she happily accepted. He gently squeezed her sides before he pulled away, his forehead pressed against hers. God, he was a lucky man to have her in his life. Just as lucky as she was to have her boyfriend also just so happen to be her best friend. They were both lucky because the truth was, they deserved each other more than anyone else could ever imagine. And now they had each other, they weren’t letting each other go anywhere anytime soon.

“By the way, my favourite part of you is _definitely_ your ass.”

“JJ!”

“What?! It’s true! You have a damn good ass, Carrera!”

“Right back at you, Maybank.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also the version of "Santa Baby" I imagined Kie singing was the Kylie Minogue version, in case anyone wanted to know!


End file.
